Apparatus for use in the treatment or annealing of castings



UNi'lED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN K. SMITH, 01E TMTILVIAUKEE,'WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO LAKESIDE MALLEABL'E CASTINGS COMPANY, OF IRIACINE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE TREATMENT OR ANNEALING OF CASTINGS.

V incense.

Application filed February 10, 1921.

5. '0 all whom it may concern."

Be itknown that T, EDWIN K. SrurrH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Use in the Treatment or Annealing of'Castings, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for use in the treatment or annealing of castings and more particularly to the receptacles or annealing pots employed to contain the parts during the heating operation. in. foundry practice, to render cast iron parts malleable, it is customary to subject the same to intense heat but during this treatment it is important to avoid exposing the surfaces to open flanges which cause the castings to scale, become weakened and unsatisfactory in appearance. The usual method is to mount upon an iron base, a plurality of open end cast iron receptacles, one upon the other, each of which is are ranged to receive parts to be treated.

fl eretofore, the annealing pots used have been cast of uniform thickness throughout and it has been found that after the first annealing operation, the receptacles become warped, bulged and otherwise inisshaped so that when placed one upon the other, the ends thereof fail to contact, thereby exposing the contents to open flame.

It has been necessary, therefore, in order to protect the castings, to bury the same in a packing and in addition, to place mud or similar material in and about the open ings formed between the receptacles. Obviously, the warping and bulging of the annealing parts with the resulting necessity of packing the castings during the heating process has been a source of dissatisfaction in foundry practice.

It is an object of my invention, therefore, to provide an annealing pot provided with flanged ends having broad smooth surfaces for engagement with corresponding sur faces on the associated pot or member whereby the ends of the receptacles are given a greater cross-section and consequent greater strength to withstand stralns incident to the heating operation. The pots Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14, 1922.

Serial No.'443,823.

with flanged ends are much less subject to warping, due to stiffening effect of increased cross section at ends, than are the old style unflanged pots, and even if warped, there will always be a continuous contracting surface between the pots as they rest upon each other and in this way it is possible to eliminate the use of packing as a protection for the castings.

In treating a plurality of small parts which might be misshaped if subjected to the weight of parts contained in the upper sections of the stack, I find it desirable to separate the contents of each section and therefore provide asmooth surfaced plate for disposition between the sections and arranged to contact with the smooth faces of tne flanges.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view, partly in section of a stack of annealing pots and members of my invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts in both views.

In the drawings, I have illustrated a stack comprising a cast iron base 9 provided with a smooth upper surface 10 upon which rests one of a plurality of annealing pots or receptacles 11. Each of the receptacles is open at-both ends and carries flanged portions 12l2 to form a sealing means between the several elements when placed one upon the other. The flanges have broad smooth faces 13-13 to secure a large area of continuous contact between the associated members.

For the annealing operation, an open end receptacle is placed on the base as shown, and a plurality of similar receptacles are stacked to form a continuous inclosure to receiv the cast iron parts for treatment.

In the annealing of small castings, the same are frequently misshaped while soft if subjected to the weight ofthe contents of the upper sections of the stack and I provide a smooth faced plate M for disposition between the upper and lower flanges of a pair of receptacles. This plate is arranged to maintain the required seal between the sections as well as to support the contents of the receptacle of which it forms the base. A similar plate 16 is placed upon the upper receptacle to provide all end closure.

With the use of my improved annealing pots, it is unnecessary to employ packing to protect the castings from flame but asit is desirable to keep the inclosure as air-tight as possible, I apply mud or similar sub stance to the region of the connection be-. tween the elements of the stack. I find it desirable to smear mud or other viscous material 17 on the upper broad face of the flange, thereby filling in any existing spaces due to roughness in the contacting surfaces the flanges or stack elements. After the receptacles have been filled and the stack is in position, mud 18 is placed on the outside, as shown, as an added protection to the castings.

It will be seen that by the provision of the flanged receptacles, the increased crosssections afford a means of withstanding the strains to which the parts are subjected in the expansion and contraction thereof and that in this way, it is possible to maintain a continuous contacting surfacebetween the several members of the stack.

Itwill also be seen that the flanges function as a retaining means to hold the sealing mud in position at the points of connection between the several elements.

Another important advantage resulting from the use of flanged receptacles lies in the fact that the likelihood of displacing one receptacle with respect to another is.

, gagement faces, said flanges arranged, when the flasks rest one upon the other, to engage the flanges of the adjacent flask to provide a seal.

2. An annealing apparatus of the type comprising a plurality of flasks adapted to be set one upon the other, each of said flasks being similarly flanged at each end, said flanges extending at right angles to the body of the flask and having broad engagement faces, said flanges arranged, when the flasks rest one upon the other, to'engage the flanges of the adjacent flask to provide a seal between the section's.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 27th day of January, 1921.

EDWIN K. SMITH.

Witnesses:

HELEN WINTZ, ARTHUR HAY. 

